This Too Shall Pass
by SMK KMS
Summary: Two-year-old Matty Stetson proves that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree-especially when the tree involves Lee and Amanda.


Disclaimers: The characters in this story are copyrighted by Warner Brothers and Shoot The Moon Productions. I make no money from these characters; I simply like to share their world for a short time.

A/N A sequel of sorts to BOYS WILL BE BOYS. Just a typical day at the King/Stetson household—well . . . typical if the household includes the two-year-old son of Lee Stetson! (Inspired by a real-life event starring my then two-year-old son.) Hope you enjoy! A special thanks to Bruce Boxleitner and Kate Jackson—as well as the rest of the cast—for portraying these characters so wonderfully.

Matthew Lee "Matty" Stetson was two years old and the apple of his mother and father's eye. That he had apparently inherited both their propensities for trouble, however, was a constant worry. That he had his father's "devil may care" attitude only made matters worse. Luckily today's birthday party had been, for Matty, quite the calm celebration.

Big brothers Phillip and Jaime had pooled their allowances and gotten him a stuffed Mickey Mouse doll, Matty's favorite, much to Lee's dismay. (As Jaime had so accurately stated as he slapped his stepfather on the back, "We can't help that his favorite character just happens to be a mouse. You're how old, Lee? Don't you think it's time you get over your irrational fear?")

His grandmother, with the help of Captain Kurt, had installed a brand-new sandbox in the back yard—complete with plenty of toys for in it. Dotty claimed it was in response to Matty's constant digging in her prized flower beds. It seems Lee's son had taken over the job of insuring that her hard work was for naught.

The pint-sized drum set was courtesy of Aunt Franny. Lee swore revenge, to which Francine simply stuck out her tongue. After all, she wasn't going to be the one that had to listen to his incessant "practice"!

Uncle Billy and Aunt Jeannie had gone for a Big Wheel, which was decked out to resemble a silver sports car. While it wasn't the "Vette, it certainly was a hit with the birthday boy.

Even Uncle Robert had managed to make it to DC to join in the fun. Ever the practical Army man, his present had been a sizeable savings bond to be put away for Matty's future education.

Lee and Amanda had spent many evenings "discussing" what to do for Matty's big day. Amanda wanted to put a swing set next to the sandbox so that he would have even more reason to stay out of Dotty's flowers. Lee, on the other hand, wanted to update and expand the old treehouse.

"But it's a _**treehouse**_, Amanda . . . I think I spent more hours in that tree in front of my home than I did inside the house when I was young."

"Sweetheart, that's really not a good idea; you were a few years older when you started climbing that tree. Maybe in a few years we can consider it, but he's simply too small and the treehouse is too high off the ground. Everyone knows your aversion to hospitals and blood. Can you see where I'm going with this?"

In the end, Amanda and the swing set won out. While Lee could see her point, he still thought his idea was great. So did Phillip and Jaime when he told them. Both thought the idea of an expanded treehouse was "gnarly." But since Matty _was_ quite the dare devil already, it wasn't in anyone's best interest to give him anything even remotely dangerous.

Amanda was just finishing cleaning up the kitchen when Matty toddled in. He had gone upstairs a while ago with his brothers, so she had assumed that he was with them. Obviously Matty had other ideas and had wondered off on his own.

"Mommy, me eat penny."

No, she couldn't possibly have heard him correctly.

"Matty, I thought you were with Phillip and Jaime?"

"Lip and Jay play big boy games. Me eat penny."

At this point, Lee wandered into the kitchen in search of another piece of birthday cake. "Amanda, what did he just say?"

"I think he's trying to tell us that he ate a penny, but that couldn't possibly be right, could it?"

"Well, I certainly don't know where he could have gotten a penny, much less what would have possessed him to eat the thing. I mean, I pulled a lot of stupid stunts in my day—just ask my uncle. But that's more than even I would have tried."

"Oh, I don't know about that. Remind me to ask him tomorrow when he comes for breakfast before heading to the airport. He might remember a story or two from your past that you've chosen to forget," Amanda chuckled.

"Daddy, me eat penny," Matty emphatically said as he stomped his little feet and tugged on Lee's pant leg.

"Okay little man, I want you to show me just exactly where you got the penny you said you ate," Lee told his son as he gave a wink to Amanda. He was hoping to get this absurd notion out of Matty's head by forcing him to produce the details of his escapade.

Matty proceeded to take his father by the hand, leading him up the stairs with Amanda following close behind.

At the doorway to the master bedroom, he stopped and pointed to Lee's tall chest of drawers.

"Well, I did leave my spare change there earlier; it was just too heavy in my pocket. But the top must be at least five feet from the ground. There's no way . . . " Lee managed to choke out.

Lee and Amanda both just looked on in amazement as they realized just how their clever son had reached the top. Three of the drawers had been pulled out, creating a set of makeshift stairs. Apparently Matty had had quite the adventure. (They were just lucky that they had followed the furniture store's recommendation that they anchor the tall piece of furniture to the wall!)

"He definitely could have reached the change," Amanda said slowly. Now the question was if he actually had swallowed anything or if his vivid imagination was at work yet again.

"Mommy, Daddy, me eat penny!" Matty repeated emphatically.

"I need to call the pediatrician," exclaimed Amanda.

"Guess we have to believe him, huh," Lee said in awe yet again of his son's audacity. "But hey, he certainly doesn't seem any the worse for wear. Do we really need to involve a doctor?"

"From what I've read, it might still be caught somewhere in his windpipe. It could end up cutting off his supply of air if it shifts," responded a very worried Amanda.

That galvanized Lee into action. "Forget the pediatrician; we're going straight to the emergency room!"

The car ride to the hospital had been tense, to say the least. While Lee wanted to break all speed limits, Amanda quickly reminded him that slow and steady might be the best course of action. Neither one wanted the coin to move, and Lee's erratic driving might just cause that to happen. Luckily the NEST team was free, and with both parents being agents, they were more than happy to assist the youngest Stetson.

A short hour later saw the NEST technician and all three Stetsons looking at an x-ray of a distinctly round object in their son's stomach.

"The best possible outcome," reassured the tech. "Ninety-nine percent of the time the coin passes through to the stomach with no problem. It's the other one percent that we need to worry about. You absolutely did the right thing by bringing him in."

Both parents just looked in awe at their son as he smiled back at them with a smug expression on his face.

"Mommy, Daddy, me eat penny!"

"Yes, son, you did indeed," replied a dumbstruck Lee.

"So what do we do now?" questioned Matty's concerned mother.

The tech just smiled and chuckled. "As the old saying goes, 'This too shall pass.' You do, however, need to monitor his diapers. The coin should pass through in a day or two."

"Thank you," said Amanda. "We will definitely be on the lookout for the errant coin—won't we Sweetheart?"

"Ah . . . yeah . . . "

As the three Stetsons turned to go, Matty had to have the last word—"See, me eat penny!"

The sound of the tech chuckling could be heard all the way to the exit.

The next morning saw quite a heated discussion around the Stetson's breakfast table.

"Now, Skip, you most certainly did do the same thing," insisted the Colonel.

"But how could I have eaten something like that? You never left spare change lying around, and besides, I was old enough to know better."

"Did I say you did it on my watch? No . . . I vividly remember your mother writing me about the entire episode when I was stationed in Japan. I think I might even have the letter somewhere in my storage unit, if you have to have proof."

"You have letters from my parents?"

"Of course I do! Your father was family. When he married Jenny, she became family, too. There's probably a whole bunch of things that you might be interested in stored away in that unit. Tell you what . . . I'm due back here in about a month for a series of seminars at the Pentagon. We'll set aside a day and visit the unit. You're more than welcome to anything there. After all, I haven't looked at the stuff for probably at least a decade."

"There may even be a few things that you might like for the house," he now addressed Amanda and Dotty. "I'm pretty sure there's a silk print of a Japanese tearoom that might look good hanging in your dining room. Maybe even a picture or two of a young Lee?"

"Anything _**we**_ might like?" questioned Phillip eagerly.

"Phillip . . . " warned Amanda.

"No, it's a valid question, dear. After all, they are now family, aren't they? I can't think of anything offhand, but you never know," he said with a shrug of his shoulders. "As I said, I don't think I've looked at anything there in over a decade."

"Well, we would be happy to go through the unit with you," Amanda said as she gave the Colonel a kiss on the cheek. "In the meantime, I think we had better head to Dulles if you want to catch your flight."

As Lee was relaxing on the couch later that evening, Matty climbed up on his lap to give him a hug. "Whoa there, Buddy," Lee exclaimed as he took a deep breath. "Do you have something in your diaper?" (While not officially working on potty training, both Lee and Amanda had noticed and encouraged that fact that Matty seemed to come to them when his diaper needed changed.)

"Me poop, Daddy!"

"I'll say . . . if this aroma is any indication. Okay . . . let's go get this stinky thing changed."

As they headed up to Matty's room, Lee was struck with the thought that not only did he have a very aromatic diaper to change but he also had to sift through the diaper's contents for "treasure."

"Amanda, I could use some help here," he called to his wife who was in the kitchen finishing up loading the dishwasher.

She came to the bottom of the steps, dishtowel in hand. "Sorry, Sweetheart, but he's all yours. He came to you, so . . . "

"But . . . "

"No 'but's'. Just don't forget to check for that penny." She turned and headed back to the kitchen with a smug grin. That's what you get for leaving me with all the cleanup, she thought.


End file.
